Barred from exam, Kolkata students protest with slit wrists

Five students of a college here took part in a demonstration with slit wrists to protest against the authorities' decision to disqualify them from appearing in an examination on account of low attendance, police said on Monday.

Around 65 first-year students of Khudiram Bose Central College in north Kolkata were barred from their exams due to their attendance dropping below the 75 percent mark as mandated by Calcutta University. The college is affiliated to the university.

"On Monday, these students staged a protest outside the college gate. Of them, five had self-inflicted blade injuries," a police officer said.

Police had to intervene to pacify the agitated students as more and more students joined in and blocked the congested Bidhan Sarani stretch where the college is located.

To resolve the impasse, a meeting was arranged between the students, their parents and the college authorities, with the help of police.

Following an assurance from the college administration that it would convey the students' demands to the university, the agitating students called off their protest.